All Through The Night
by Elmblossom17
Summary: Faye gets sick, and Spike gets over himself. Then they get together. Supposed to be Third of a Series, but the first two haven't quite been finished yet, sorry!


All Through The Night

A Cowboy Bebop Fanfiction

by Elmblossom17, aka Jessica Robinson

04/11/'03

Warnings & Disclaimers Disclaimer: I do not own Cowboy Bebop. I have no money. I am writing this only for my own enjoyment and not financial gain. Please don't sue. Warning #1: this is a Spike X Faye fic, so if you don't like that pairing, you probably won't like this fic. Warning #2: This story is an (extremely) romantic one, taking place sometime after what in the original series was Episode 26, 'The Real Folk Blues (part 2)'. Warning #3: I subscribe to the 'Spike is alive' theory because: A.) It's just too sad! and B.) How could he get together with Faye if he didn't survive? Warning #4: This story ties in to a few of my other fics. I don't have them up yet, but when I do put them up, I'll mark them as part of this fic's storyline.

Faye Valentine was seriously ill. She lay on her bunk, in the room she'd 'claimed' as her own when she first joined the informal 'crew' of the Bebop. She was laying on her side, facing away from the door, sweating miserably with a terrible fever. She hadn't left her room except to rush to the head and vomit for about two days. She wasn't sure how long it had been, exactly; she spent a lot of time in a delirious, dream-like state, and the clock in her room was broken- again. But she thought that it had been about two days since the fever started.  
She'd had mild nausea for a couple days, even before the fever; but she hadn't mentioned it to anyone, thinking it was nothing. After the fever hit her, she hadn't been able to tell anyone she didn't feel well. The door had remained closed most of the time, except when she opened it to make another run for the toilet. She wasn't even eating anything; but she'd been violently sick to her stomach just the same. She also had sharp pains in her lower abdomen, and her back, as well.  
As far as Faye could tell, she'd first started feeling bad a week earlier, after the last bounty she had helped the boys bring in, a violent offender- Faye later found out he was a serial rapist- who had put up more of a fight than usual. Unfortunately, Faye had started to capture him before her backup (who was, in this case, Spike) arrived, and had been startled when the bounty suddenly overpowered her, and then proceeded to beat the hell out of her. By the time Spike had arrived, she was unconscious. Spike had arrived just in time to prevent the bounty from raping his friend. He'd shot him, once in his right thigh, once in his left shoulder, and once in his gut, near his groin. Just to make the point, he'd then kicked the shit out of the bastard. Jet had had to pull him off the guy when he arrived. The bounty lived, just barely. Spike took two days to come down off his adrenaline rush, and he'd almost shot Ein on accident when the data dog woke him up by licking his feet. Spike could be like that sometimes.  
Faye was struck by a sudden wave of nausea, jumped to her feet and bolted out of her room and down the passageway to the head. A few moments later, she reemerged, wiping her mouth on her sleeve, and moved slowly back down the hallway towards her room. But before she could get through the door and close it again behind her, someone popped their head out of Spike's room, which was just down the hall in the other direction, towards the living area and kitchenette. It was Spike, naturally. The moss-haired space cowboy looked around for a minute, then stopped and stared when he saw Faye.  
A moment later he was standing next to her, a look of concern on his usually stoic face. "Faye! My God! You look like...well, like Hell"  
"I know, lunkhead," Faye said dully, trying to get past him into her room. "I'm sick, or something"  
"How long has this been going on?" Spike asked, his voice sounding- to Faye, anyway- uncomfortably worried.  
Faye tried unsuccessfully to dodge past him, but he grabbed her gently by the shoulders and held her in place. "How long"  
"Uh, since that last bountyhead," Faye said, looking anywhere but at Spike.  
"Jeee-zus! Faye, you're not sick, you're seriously injured! Look, I'm taking you to a hospital." Spike began to drag the female bounty hunter toward the living room, past which was the docking hangar where their personal ships were normally kept.  
"Spiiiiiike," Faye tried to whine, protesting, but her pathetic mewling had no effect on the determined poofy-haired hunter. "It's not that bad"  
Spike looked at her over his shoulder, a dead-serious look on his face. It startled Faye somewhat, to see him looking so...so much like he actually cared. Most of the time, Spike was nonchalant and laid-back to the point of fault, and he didn't care about much except his cigarettes. And Julia- but we won't go into that. Faye winced, thinking of the blonde woman.  
"You see?" Spike shook his head. "Nope, to the doctor you go"  
"But... Spike... I don't have the woolongs to pay for a doctor, or a stay in the hospital, and if I go in there, you know they'll want to keep me, for days probably! It could even be a week, or longer! Spike, I'm still paying off the bills from my last stay in the hospital..." She winced again, nasty memories of her last stay in a hospital flaring up. Again Spike misinterpreted her wince, and to Faye's great surprise and consternation, he stopped and swept Faye up into his arms. He then proceeded to carry her to his ship as if she weighed no more than a child. She kicked her legs feebly, but didn't have the strength to really try to get down very hard.  
"Spike! Put me down this instant!" she cried angrily. "I can walk perfectly well on my own"  
His only response was, "It'll be quicker this way." A few moments later, as they entered the big docking bay, he said softly, "I'll pay the hospital bills...this time"  
"Spike," she started to say, but was cut off as another sharp pain went through her lower abdomen and back like a bullet. "Nngghhaaaaaaa..." she groaned in pain. "Oh, God," she tried to say, but her voice was suddenly reduced to a whisper. Everything started to go black and fuzzy around the edges.  
"Faye," she heard Spike's voice say. And then again, louder, with more urgency: "Faye!" It sounded like he was speaking from a long, long ways away. Suddenly, Faye felt scared.  
"Spike...help...me..." she managed to utter before everything faded to black.

"Faye-faye"  
A voice cut through the darkness, and Faye became alert. 'What's going on?' she thought dazedly. Faye felt like she'd been put through the wringer. Her whole body ached agonizingly, especially her lower abdomen and her lower back. Her mouth tasted sour, and her body felt as heavy as lead. She tried, unsuccessfully, to open her eyes, but they felt like they were tacked down.  
"Faye-faye!" came the voice again, cheerful and insistant, clearing away the fog that tried to linger on the edges of Faye's mind. It was far too high-pitched for Faye's delicate ears' comfort. It was Ed, she suddenly realized.  
Another, much deeper voice. "Ed, leave Faye alone. She's... Resting." That sounded kind of like...Jet.  
A third voice. One that was all too familiar. "Faye"  
A pause, then Jet's voice again. "Not just yet, Spike. Go back to sleep"  
"I..." the third voice, now identified as Spike, sounded like it was on the verge of tears.  
"C'mon, Ed, let's leave Faye and Spike alone now," Jet's voice came quickly, and then Faye heard two pairs of footsteps fade away. A door hissed shut. Faye could still hear another person's breathing in the room- Spike.  
"Faye..." Spike's voice was low and trembling. "The...the doctors said...we should have...brought you in sooner. Th-this is all my f-fault..." and sniffling. Faye was startled to feel tiny drops of wetness striking her face. One slid into her closed mouth, and Faye tasted saltwater.  
'Spike...crying? Over me? What...?' Faye thought disorientedly. She tried to open her eyes again, and failed again.  
"I...I'm sorry, Faye... I've failed you. I should have kept a closer watch on you after that...that bastard hurt you." His voice became fierce. "I wish I could've killed that...that mother-fucker! I know if I'd only been quicker getting to you that night, this wouldn't have happened..." His voice thickened again, and Faye felt more tears falling on her face. She wanted so very badly to let him know she was awake, that she could hear him- but her body was still not responding to her attempts to control it.  
"I... Failed... You... Just like I failed..." Spike choked and went silent. But Faye could still feel tears falling onto her face.  
'No, Spike...' she thought. 'You didn't fail me...I hid my condition from you on purpose! And it wasn't your fault you couldn't get there sooner that night, either! None of this was your fault!' She wanted to cry, herself, she was so frustrated about not being able to tell him these things.  
"Faye, oh Faye... I heard them saying you might never wake up. They didn't want me to know, but they told Jet. Ed still thinks you're just taking a nap. But I..." His voice broke. "I won't leave you, I'll stay here with you, until you do wake up...however long it takes." His voice broke again. Fresh tears dripped all over Faye's face.  
"Faye...I know I never told you how much you meant to me... But"  
Faye, had she been able to move, would've frozen in shock at these words.  
"After... After she... After my battle with Vicious... You were all that kept me alive." His voice was soft and pleading now. "You sat with me, all through the long nights when I couldn't sleep because I would dream of them, you stayed by my side faithfully... It made me realize that whatever I felt for...for Julia... You were, in a way I never understood before then, a better person than she was"  
Faye couldn't believe what she was hearing. She wondered if all this was just some nasty dream, one she couldn't wake from.  
"I never wanted to admit that as much as I loved Julia, she would never have stuck by me, would never have sat by me through the night. Not like you. Faye, I admired you so much for your courage...your brave spirit...your indomitable heart"  
'But my heart's not indomitable,' Faye thought in surprise. 'You've long since taken it over, you fiend, you.' Her thought was fond, even though the words sounded harsh.  
"Faye. Oh, my beautiful, my sweet little gypsy... I could never see until it was too late to say anything that you were exactly what I've wanted... What I've needed so badly...all my life." Faye felt a hand tenderly stroke her cheek along the jawline. Spike's hand... In days gone by, Faye had dreamed of something like this happening. Those dreams she had always thought of as her happiest dreams, her best dreams. Naturally, she wasn't paralyzed and in a coma for the most part during her dreams, though.  
"Faye." Spike's voice was dark and sad. "If you leave me now... I don't know what I'll do"  
'Spike!' Faye was shocked. She tried to move, to do something, but she couldn't. She started to slip back down into the darkness again. Just as she felt herself lose her tenuous grip on awareness, she felt the touch of Spike's hand on hers. He took her hand in his, twined their fingers together.  
"Please, please come back to me," she heard him whisper, as if from a great distance, and then all was black.

"Faye"  
A soft voice spoke her name, and the bounty huntress tried to respond. She recognized Jet's voice. The ex-cop sounded sad and hopeless.  
"Faye, it's Jet. I hope you can hear me... They said that you would either start waking up soon, or you'd never wake up at all. So maybe you can hear me... if you can, at all, let me know. Wiggle your toe, blink an eye, something...anything. Anything at all..." he said softly, and Faye figured that he must be seated pretty close from the sound of his voice. "Spike and I, and Ed and Ein, we all want you to wake up... Please, Faye, I need you to wake up"  
Faye tried to respond. She tried wiggling her toes, her fingers, everything. She tried to open her eyes, her mouth, but nothing worked. Finally, in desparation, the violet-tressed woman put all her energy into trying to move.  
To Faye's delight, she felt her right pointer finger move. She wanted to grin in triumph. She did it again, and then she felt her other fingers on that hand moving, too. She wiggled them as much as she could.  
"Faye...? Oh my goodness, Faye, your fingers"  
Faye felt like laughing. Jet had seen her fingers moving. "You can hear me, can't you? Wiggle one finger for yes, two for no"  
Faye wiggled her pointer finger.  
"Alright!" Jet shouted happily. "I have to go tell the doctor"  
Faye mentally frowned. She wanted him to get Spike, first. But so far she could only indicate 'yes' or 'no', and 'get me Spike you big loon' was a bit harder to signify. She wiggled three fingers.  
"What? Three? Um, something else, then"  
One for yes.  
"You don't want me to get the doctor"  
Three again.  
"Ok...um, you do want me to get the doctor, but something else as well"  
One, happily.  
"Um...is it a thing you want me to get"  
Two, no.  
"A person"  
One, yes!  
"A medical person"  
No.  
"Uh, one of the crew"  
Yes!  
"Do you want me to get Ed"  
Faye wondered if he might not be teasing her now. She wiggled two fingers for no.  
"Ein? Do you want to see Ein"  
Faye would've bet money that she could hear laughter in his voice. She wiggled two, again.  
"Hm...well, that's everybody... Oh! Spike? You really want me to get Spike for you"  
Yes, Yes, Yes!  
"Well...ok. I think he's sleeping, out in the waiting room. He was in here all night, then a nurse came in and found him sleeping. She asked me to move him out there. I'll go see if he's awake yet. And get a doctor, or nurse or something"  
Faye signalled 'yes' again, utterly happy. This finger-wiggling system of communication was highly ineffiecient, but it could be used, and that was enough.  
"Ok, hold on, I'll be back in a minute." Faye heard Jet stand up, and then he left the room. She wiggled her fingers, happy to finally have regained movement, even if only a little bit.  
"Faye!" Jet was back, and Faye heard another person with him. "Faye, I'm back. Here's Doctor Hitokiri, he's going to ask you some questions. I'm going to go try wake up Spike. Be back soon"  
"Hello, Miss Valentine," said an unfamiliar voice. Faye assumed it was the doctor Jet had mentioned.  
"Mr. Black had told me you are aware, and have regained mobility in your right hand"  
Faye wiggled her fingers.  
"Just the fingers, then"  
One finger, yes.  
"Are you in any pain, this morning"  
Faye had to think about it for a minute. Then she signalled 'yes,' as her lower abdomen and back still ached, a little.  
"Let me guess; lower back and abdomen"  
Yes.  
"Is it very bad"  
No.  
"Do you want medication for it? I'll warn you, the medication could make you fall asleep again"  
No.  
"Ok, so no meds for now. Anything else"  
No. Faye just wanted the idiot to go away and Spike to arrive.  
"Ok then! A nurse will check up on you periodically. I'll see you later, Miss Valentine"  
Faye wiggled all her fingers, a mimicry of a wave goodbye. The doctor laughed.  
"Goodbye." Faye listened as the doctor left, and she was alone again, momentarily. Then, rapidly, another person came into the room.  
"Faye-faye"  
Faye would've groaned if she could have. Ed. Where was Jet with Spike?  
"Hi, Faye-faye! Jet-person said you are wakey-wakey from your nappy now"  
Faye wiggled one finger. Yes.  
"One finger for yes, two for no, said Jet-person... Wiggley, wiggle!" Ed giggled. Faye wanted to groan, again.  
"Faye-faye, Ed missed you when you was sleeping. No more long nappy, ok"  
'Yes.' Faye wiggled one finger, wanting to grin.  
"Okie-dokie then! Jet-person said Ed has to help Faye-faye wait for a little while... Spike-person must wakey-wakey from his nappy"  
Faye felt like laughing. She wiggled one finger, 'yes'  
"Spike-person has been very sad, Faye-faye... he has sitted in here with you all through your nappy-nap. Faye-faye should've seen him- he was all droopy"  
Faye didn't know exactly what that meant. Ed-speak was often, if not always, incomprehensible to the older bounty hunter.  
"Faye-faye must work on getting more parts moving eh? Ed will help!" To Faye's chagrin, Ed grabbed her hands and began flinging them around wildly. A few seconds later, a startled voice rang out.  
"Edward! Let Faye go this instant"  
Faye sighed in relief. Jet was back. Surely he would make the girl leave her alone.  
"C'mon, Ed, why don't we go get some chow, ok?" Jet sounded like he wanted to laugh.  
"YEAH! FOOD!" Ed cheered, then ran out of the room. Jet chuckled.  
"Hey, Faye, it's Jet again. Spike will be here in just a few minutes. Don't worry, I'll keep Ed occupied for a while, ok"  
Faye wiggled 'yes' enthusiastically, provoking a laugh from Jet. "Ok then. See you, cowgirl." Jet left, still laughing. Faye was, once again, alone... but not for long.  
"Faye"  
A familiar, beloved voice... Spike's voice. "Faye, can you hear me"  
Faye wiggled one finger, 'yes'  
"Uh... I want to ask how you're feeling, but I know you can't answer that"  
Yes.  
"Are you feeling ok"  
Yes, no.  
"You're in pain"  
Yes, no.  
"Maybe a little bit"  
Yes.  
"But not too bad"  
Yes.  
"Ok... Um... Did you only just wake up, or have you been awake for a while? Uh, I mean, did you just wake up"  
No.  
"You've been awake, but you couldn't let us know"  
Yes.  
"Since...um...was I here the first time you woke up"  
Yes.  
"Was anyone else here"  
Yes.  
"A doctor"  
No.  
"Jet"  
Yes.  
"Was it just me and Jet"  
No.  
"Me and Jet, and, um, Ed"  
Yes.  
"...Oh"  
Faye felt like laughing, or crying, or something hysterical like that.  
"Faye... Uh"  
Yes.  
"What"  
Yes.  
"Um"  
Faye felt like giggling; Spike was obviously confused, and she so enjoyed his confusion. Then she felt bad for enjoying his confusion.  
"Ok... Uh, Faye"  
Yes.  
"Do you remember what I said to you"  
Yes.  
"Are...are you...um, angry? I didn't mean for you to hear all that stuff"  
Faye signalled 'no' vehemently. She wanted to cry.  
"You're not angry"  
No.  
"You... oh, man, I wish you could talk"  
Yes.  
Spike laughed lightly. Faye wanted to grin.  
"Faye, I don't know if I said so last night... But I love you"  
Now Faye wanted to cry, again, with joy.  
"Do you...that is, do I... Um... Are we"  
Yes.  
"Yes"  
Yes.  
"Really"  
Yes.  
"For how long? Ah, I mean, um, well...wiggle one finger for 'since we first met,' and, um, two fingers for 'since you went off to get yourself killed by that bastard Vicious and you nursed me back to health,' and, um, three for 'somewhere in between"  
Three fingers wiggled.  
"Really"  
Yes.  
"This is a pretty sad excuse for a conversation, isn't it"  
Yes.  
"I'm sorry about all this, Faye...if I'd only brought you in to see a doctor after the fight, this might not be happening"  
No.  
"Hmm"  
No.  
"Uh..." Spike paused for a moment. Then, suddenly, Faye felt his hand wrap around her left one. Their fingers intertwined, and she wanted to grin. "Oh, Faye. I hope you get better fast"  
Yes.  
He laughed lightly. "Would you...be mad if I kissed you"  
'No,' Faye signed. She felt her heart skip a beat. Was he really going to?  
She felt his hand tenderly stroke her face, and then something soft, dry, and warm brushed her lips. "I love you," he said again, his voice thickening.  
Yes.  
'I love you too,' Faye thought dreamily. 'More than anyone, or anything else, ever.'

-A few months later, onboard the Bebop-

"Spike!" Faye giggled and pushed his hand away from her butt. "Don't do that"  
"Aww, baby..." Spike murmured in her ear, a smile on his face. "Come on, don't be like that"  
"Spiiiiiike," Faye said again, and then moaned as his hands slipped around to pull her against him. Then she was silenced as his mouth covered hers, and her arms slid around his shoulders to clutch at him.  
"Spike? Faye?" Jet said, coming into the room and then turning quickly away as he saw what the two were up to. "Uh, nevermind," he muttered, walking back the way he came.  
Faye pulled away from Spike, holding his face between her hands. "I love you," she said earnestly. "I love you so much"  
Spike smiled tenderly. "I love you too," he replied. "I...um...I got a present for you..." he blushed.  
"Really? What is it?" Faye's eyes lit up. She loved presents!  
"You'll just have to wait and see... come on, it's in my room. I was hiding it so you wouldn't find it before I was ready to give it to you"  
"Hmmmm..." Faye giggled as he got up and then pulled her to her feet. "Is it pretty"  
"Not as pretty as you," Spike replied with a teasing grin. He led her down the hall and opened the door to his room, which was considerably cleaner than the last time Faye had been in it.  
"You cleaned up in here!" she said delightedly.  
Spike laughed and went to his bureau, opened the top drawer, and pulled out a small box. Then he turned to Faye and gave it to her. "Here it is"  
Faye looked down at her gift curiously, and popped the top off the small box. She gasped as she saw what was inside it. "Spike...!" She stared down at the beautiful, sparkling diamond ring.  
He smirked to hide his nervousness. "Come on, don't tell me you didn't think this was coming sooner or later," he said. "You've stolen my heart, little gypsy. Now I can't live without you." His smirk faded, leaving him looking vulnerable and slightly scared. "Will you marry me?" he said, and caught his breath.  
"Spike!" Faye cried, her eyes filling with tears. "Oh, Spike!" She threw her arms around his neck, still holding the box containing her engagement ring in her right hand.  
"Is that a yes?" he asked breathlessly, wrapping his arms around his beloved.  
"Yes! Yes! Oh, a million times yes!" Faye felt tears running down her face, and joy in her heart. "I've dreamed of this day, Spike... but I never dared to dream it would really come"  
"Well, it's here now," Spike murmured, a smile lighting up his face. "It's here now"  
"I can't believe this," Faye said as Spike slid the ring onto her finger. She admired the ring for a moment, then looked her lover in the eyes and kissed him passionately.  
Spike returned her kiss with equal fervor, and then whispered breathlessly in her ear, "Believe it. I'll never go away now, Faye Valentine. You're stuck with me." He grinned.  
She closed her eyes and pulled him close. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

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